Overview

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I study human performance, both functional and dysfunctional, from the perspectives of complexity science and ecological psychology. My research primarily focuses on (a) the action strategies that individuals of different ages, with and without pathological conditions, employ when performing a variety of tasks, and (b) the perceptual capabilities that supports adaptability of action strategies to particular circumstances. I have three complimentary aims. The first is to examine and advance general theoretical principles to explain the coordination and perceptual regulation of biological movement that support successful performance in diverse circumstances. The second is to reveal and explain changes in action coordination and perceptual capabilities associated with pathological conditions. The third is to apply these principles in the design of methods to assess and enhance resilience of individuals with movement-related disability and those at risk for sports injury. My overarching goal is to promote effective cross-fertilization between theory and clinical practice in the fields of rehabilitation and sports medicine.

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Primary research areas and selected peer-reviewed publications (CV has full list!)                          (* student authors)

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A) Action coordination and control: Theory-development 

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In this line of work, I employ a variety of linear and non-linear analytical methods to model the stable features and/or the more subtle fluctuations in behavioral patterns (patterns of muscular activation, force production, body movements) underlying performance of a variety of tasks. I examine how behavioral patterns are shaped by task demands, contextual conditions, and characteristics of the individual. The overall objective here is to examine and advance theoretical principles underlying coordination and control of action. 

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Grover, F. M. *, Nalepka, P. *, Silva, P. L., Lorenz, T., & Riley, M. A. (2018). Variable and intermittent grip force control in response to differing load force dynamics. Experimental brain research, 1-17.

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Grover, F. *, Lamb, M., Bonnette, S., Silva, P. L., Lorenz, T., & Riley, M. A. (2018). Intermittent coupling between grip force and load force during oscillations of a hand-held object. Experimental brain research, 1-14.

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Grover, F. *, Schwab, S. *, Silva, P., Lorenz, T., Riley, M. (2019). Flexible organization of grip force control during movement frequency scaling. Journal of neurophysiology, 122: 2304-2315.

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Silva, P.L., Bootsma, R.J., Figueiredo, P.R.P., Avelar, B.S., Andrade, A.G.P., Fonseca, S.T., Mancini, M.C. (2016). Task difficulty and inertial properties of hand-held tools: An assessment of their concurrent effects on precision aiming. Human Movement Science, 48, 161-170.

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Silva, P.L., Fonseca, S.T., Ocarino, J.M., Goncalves, G.P., Mancini, M.C. (2009). Contributions of Co-contraction and Eccentric Activity to Stiffness Regulation. Journal of Motor Behavior, 41, 207-218.

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Frank, T., Silva, P.L., Turvey, M.T. (2012). Symmetry axiom of Haken Kelso Bunz coordination dynamics revisited in the context of cognitive activity. Journal of Mathematical Psychology, 56, 149-165.

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Lopresti-Goodman, S.M., Richardson, M.J., Silva, P.L., Schimdt, RA. (2008). Period Basin of Entrainment for Unintentional Visual Coordination. Journal of Motor Behavior, 40, 3-10.

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Silva, P.L., Moreno, M.M., Mancini, M.C., Fonseca, S.T., Turvey, M.T. (2007). Steady-state stress at one hand magnifies the amplitude, stiffness, and non-linearity of oscillatory behavior at the other hand. Neuroscience Letters, 429, 64-68.

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B) Action coordination and control: Clinical application and implications

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This line of work focuses on the action strategies that individuals of different ages, with and without pathological conditions, employ when performing a variety of tasks. The overall objective here is to test hypotheses  that have more direct clinical applications and implications. An important lesson from this work is that age and pathology are but one set of constraints on the organization of action strategies. Explaining the particular characteristics of immature or pathological behavioral pattern and understanding their relation to task performance require serious consideration of the task demands, contextual factors (e.g. physical, informational, social), and individual capabilities (e.g. cognitive, neural, and biomechanical). 

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Schwab, S. M.*, Grover, F. M.*, Abney, D. H., Silva, P. L., & Riley, M. A. (2020). Children and adolescents with cerebral palsy flexibly adapt grip control in response to variable task demands. Clinical Biomechanics, 105149.

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Figueiredo, P.R.P.*, Silva, P.L., Avelar, B.S., Fonseca, S.T., Bootsma, R.J., Mancini, M.C. (2015). Upper limb performance and the structuring of joint movement in teenagers with cerebral palsy: the reciprocal role of task demands and action capabilities. Experimental Brain Research, 233:1155-1164.

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Pinto, T.P.S.*, Fonseca, S.T., Goncalves, R.V., Souza, T.R., Vaz, D.V., Silva, P.L., Mancini, M.C. (2018). Mechanisms contributing to gait speed and metabolic cost in children with unilateral cerebral palsy. Brazilian Journal of Physical Therapy, 22 (1), 42-48.

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Gontijo, A.P.B., Mancini, M.C., Silva, P.L., Sampaio, R., Fonseca, S.T. (2008). Use of neuromotor strategies by toddlers with down syndrome and toddlers with typical development during the acquisition of independent gain. Human Movement Science, 27, 610-621.

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Resende, R.A.*, Fonseca, S.T., Silva, P.L., Magalhaes, C.M.B.**, Kirkwood, R.N. (2013). Women with early stages of knee osteoarthritis demonstrate lower mechanical work efficiency at the knee. Topics in Geriatric Rehabilitation, 29, p. 62-66.

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Resende, R.A.*, Fonseca, S.T., Silva, P.L., Magalhaes, C.M.B.*, Kirkwood, R.N. (2012). Power at hip, knee and ankle joints are compromised in women with mild and moderate knee osteoarthritis. Clinical Biomechanics, 27, 1038-1044.

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Rodrigues, E.B.**, Chagas, P.S.C.*, Silva, P.L., Kirkwood, R.N., Mancini, M.C. (2013). Impact of leg length and body mass on the stride length and gait speed of infants with normal motor development: A longitudinal study. Brazilian Journal of Physical Therapy, 17(2),163-9.

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Fonseca, S.T., Ocarino, J.M., Silva, P.L., Guimaraes, R.B., Oliveira, M.C., Lage, C.A. (2005). Analysis of proprioception in high functioning individuals with ACL deficient-knee. Research In Sports Medicine: An International Journal, 13(1), 47-61.

 

Fonseca, S.T., Silva, P.L., Ocarino, J.M., Guimaraes, R.B., Oliveira, M.C., Lage, C.A. (2004). Analysis of dynamic co-contraction level in individuals with anterior cruciate ligament injury. Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology, 14, 239-247.

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Chagas, P. S., Fonseca, S. T., Santos, T. R., Souza, T. R., Megale, L., Silva, P. L., & Mancini, M. C. (2020). Effects of baby walker use on the development of gait by typically developing toddlers. Gait & Posture, 76, 231-237.

 

Silva, P. L. Moving from Biology to Behavior II: Leveraging Phenotypic Plasticity to Identify Signatures of Behavioral Fitness (2017). Complex Systems in Sport, International Congress, Linking Theory and Practice (p. 73).

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Kiefer, A.W., DiCesare, C., Bonnette, S., Kitchen, K., Gadd, B., Thomas, S., Barber-Foss, K.D., Myer, G.D., Riley, M.A., Silva, P.L. (2017). Sport-specific virtual reality to identify profiles of anterior cruciate ligament injury risk during unanticipated cutting. International Conference on Virtual Rehabilitation (ICVR), Montreal, Canada, IEEExplore, pp. 1-8.

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C) On perceptual capabilities and its contribution to the adaptability of action patterns

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The adaptability of movement patterns to the particular characteristics of the individual (body mechanics, dimensions, action capabilities) and contextual conditions implicates perception.  The questions I have addressed in this domain are (a) what informational variable(s) drive(s) organization of effective and adaptive action patterns in meaningful motor tasks?, (b) What are the conditions that promote perceptual learning, that is, discovery and use useful informational variables?, (c) What is the impact of task demands and pathological conditions on the process leading to discovery and use of task-relevant information? I have focused primarily on dynamic touch (or muscle-based perception). Arguably it is the touch system that supports organization of context and task sensitive movement patterns without the need of conscious control liberating our minds to think about and recall the grocery list for instance while walking. My recent work focuses on the possible relation between deficits in haptic perception and attention deficit disorder. Finally, I have contributed to the development of and provided empirical support to a new hypothesis about the medium for haptic perception (the tensegrity hypothesis pioneered by Fonseca & Turvey) and how it relates to the control of action and issues in rehabilitation.

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Carello, C., Silva, P.L., Kinsella-Shaw, J., Turvey, M.T. (2008). Muscle-based perception: theory, research, and implications to rehabilitation. Brazilian Journal of Physical Therapy. 12, 339-350.

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Silva, P.L., Fonseca, S.T., Turvey, M.T. (2010). Is tensegrity the functional architecture of the equilibrium point hypothesis? Motor Control, 14, e35-e40.

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Hajnal, A., Fonseca, S.T., Silva, P.L., Kinsella-Shaw, J., Turvey, M.T. (2007). Haptic Selective Attention by Foot and by Hand. Neuroscience Letters, 419, 5-9.

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Carvalhais, V.O.C.*, Ocarino, J.M., Araujo, V.L.*, Souza, T.R., Silva, P.L., Fonseca, S.T. (2013). Myofascial force transmission between the latissimus dorsi and gluteus maximus muscles: An in vivo experiment. Journal of Biomechanics, 46, 1003-1007.

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Silva, P.L., Turvey, M.T. (2012). The role of haptic information in shaping coordination dynamics: Inertial frame of reference hypothesis. Human Movement Science, 31, 1014-1036.

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Jacobs, D.M., Silva, P.L., Yague, J.C. (2009). An Empirical Illustration and Formalization of the Theory of Direct Learning: The Muscle-Based Perception of Kinetic Properties. Ecological Psychology, 21, 45-289.

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Silva, P.L., Harrison, S., Kinsella-Shaw, J., Turvey, M.T., Carello, C. (2009). Lessons for Dynamic Touch from a Case of Stroke-induced Motor Impairment. Ecological Psychology, 21, 291-307.

 

Avelar, B. S.*, Mancini, M. C., Fonseca, S. T., Kelty-Stephen, D. G., de Miranda, D. M., Romano-Silva, M. A., & Silva, P. L. (2019). Fractal fluctuations in exploratory movements predict differences in dynamic touch capabilities between children with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and typical development. PloS one, 14(5), e0217200.

 

Ocarino, J.M., Fonseca, S.T., Silva, P.L., Pavan, G.G.*, Souza, T.R. Mancini, M.C. (2013). Dynamic touch is affected in children with cerebral palsy. Human Movement Science, 33, 85-96.

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Riehm, C. *, Chemero, A., Silva, P.L., Shockley, K. (2019). Virtual auditory aperture passability. Experimental Brain Research, 237(1).

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D) Theory-based functional practice in rehabilitation and sports.

 

With this more recent line of work, my overall goal is to make a meaningful impact in the fields of rehabilitation and sports medicine by bringing to bear my expertise in perception and action theory and research. I have leveraged the results of my own research and that of others to develop theory-inspired models to assess and enhance adaptive capacity to promote performance of individuals with movement-related disability and to prevent injury in sports (see first three position papers). Most importantly, I have formed exciting interdisciplinary collaborations to examine and hopefully demonstrate the value of such models to clinical practice, which promises to benefit many. As a Physical Therapist, I have witnessed first-hand the challenges faced by these practitioners to apply state-of-the-art theory in their day-to-day practice. To overcome these challenges our team have been working on the design of innovative, technology-based assessment and intervention methods that leverage advanced theoretical knowledge about human performance in the service of prevention of injury in sports. 

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Silva, P., Kiefer, A., Riley, M. A., & Chemero, A. (2019). Trading Perception and Action for Complex Cognition: Application of Theoretical Principles from Ecological Psychology to the Design of Interventions for Skill Learning. Handbook of Embodied Cognition and Sport Psychology, 47.  

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Kiefer, A. W., Silva, P. L., Harrison, H. & Araujo, D. (2018). Antifragility in sport: Leveraging adversity to enhance performance. Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology, 7, 342-350

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Vaz, D.V., Silva, P.L., Mancini, M.C., Carello, C., Kinsella-Shaw, J.M. Towards an ecologically grounded functional practice in rehabilitation (2017). Human Movement Science (Print) v. 52, p. 117-132.

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Hill, Y., Kiefer, A. W., Silva, P. L., Van Yperen, N. W., Meijer, R. R., Fischer, N., & Den Hartigh, R. J. (2020). Antifragility in climbing: determining optimal stress loads for athletic performance training. Frontiers in psychology, 11.

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Kiefer, A. W., Armitano-Lago, C., Sathyan, A., MacPherson, R., Cohen, K., & Silva, P. L.  (in press). The intelligent phenotypic plasticity platform (IP^3) for precision medicine-based injury prevention in sport. In A. Rassoly & M. Ossandon (Eds.), Methods in Molecular Biology. Champaign, IL: Springer.

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See my CV (home) for full list of publications. 

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